Fareham Borough Council election, 2004

The 2004 Fareham Council election took place on 10 June 2004 to elect members of Fareham Borough Council in Hampshire, England. Half of the council was up for election and the Conservative party stayed in overall control of the council.[1]

After the election, the composition of the council was

Campaign

Before the election there were 18 Conservative and 12 Liberal Democrat councillors, with 15 of the 31 seats being contested.[3] One of the 15 seats, in Fareham South ward, was vacant after an independent, former Liberal Democrat, councillor had stepped down, after being fined for false housing and council tax benefit claims.[3] Fareham South was among a number of wards which were reported as being vulnerable to a change in party control including Fareham East, Fareham North, Portchester West, Stubbington and Titchfield Common.[3] A couple of former councillors who had been defeated in the 2002 election stood again, former Labour group leader Mick Prior in Fareham North-West and Conservative Nick Walker in Portchester West.[3]

Issues in the election included council tax levels and plans by the government to build 1,000 houses near Sarisbury.[3] The national issue of the Iraq War was also seen as being likely to sway votes in the election.[3]

Election result

The results saw the Conservatives increase their majority on the council after gaining 3 seats from the Liberal Democrats.[4] Conservative gains included Stubbington where they won by only 8 votes over the Liberal Democrats after a recount and in Portchester West where Nick Walker returned to the council.[5] The Conservatives also gained a seat in Fareham South from an independent in a seat which had previously been seen as strongly Liberal Democrat.[5] The Liberal Democrats partly blamed their defeats on the election being held at the same time as the European elections, while a defeated Labour candidate said their failure to win any seats was in line with the national performance by the party.[5]

Overall turnout increased to 40.3% with a rise in postal votes to 6,000 contributing to the increase.[6]

Fareham Local Election Result 2004[7][8]
Party Seats Gains Losses Net gain/loss Seats % Votes % Votes +/−
  Conservative 12 4 0 +4 80.0 55.4 18,885 +7.2%
  Liberal Democrat 3 0 3 -3 20.0 32.8 11,185 -4.6%
  Labour 0 0 0 0 0 11.1 3,791 -3.2%
  Green 0 0 0 0 0 0.6 206 +0.6%
  Independent 0 0 1 -1 0 0 0 -

Ward results

Fareham East[7]
Party Candidate Votes % ±
Liberal Democrat Kathleen Trott 1,171 48.8
Conservative Matthew Dartmouth 1,008 42.0
Labour Stuart Rose 221 9.2
Majority 163 6.8
Turnout 2,400
Liberal Democrat hold Swing
Fareham North[7]
Party Candidate Votes % ±
Conservative John Bryant 1,397 58.3
Liberal Democrat Diana East 530 22.1
Labour Simon Brown 264 11.0
Green David Harrison 206 8.6
Majority 867 36.2
Turnout 2,397
Conservative hold Swing
Fareham North West[7]
Party Candidate Votes % ±
Liberal Democrat Eric Dunn 871 46.6
Conservative Evelyn Burley 761 40.7
Labour Michael Prior 239 12.8
Majority 110 5.9
Turnout 1,871
Liberal Democrat hold Swing
Fareham South[7]
Party Candidate Votes % ±
Conservative Trevor Howard 847 49.8
Labour James Carr 445 26.1
Liberal Democrat Catherine Hester 410 24.1
Majority 402 23.6
Turnout 1,702
Conservative gain from Independent Swing
Fareham West[7]
Party Candidate Votes % ±
Conservative Diana Harrison 1,664 67.0
Liberal Democrat Doreen Baker 559 22.5
Labour Cameron Crouchman 262 10.5
Majority 1,105 44.5
Turnout 2,485
Conservative hold Swing
Hill Head[7]
Party Candidate Votes % ±
Conservative Timothy Knight 1,875 68.0
Liberal Democrat Victoria Latimer 658 23.9
Labour Janet Gay 224 8.1
Majority 1,217 44.1
Turnout 2,757
Conservative hold Swing
Locks Heath[7]
Party Candidate Votes % ±
Conservative Ruth Godrich 1,359 62.9
Liberal Democrat Sharon Englefield 574 26.6
Labour Angela Carr 227 10.5
Majority 785 36.3
Turnout 2,160
Conservative hold Swing
Park Gate[7]
Party Candidate Votes % ±
Conservative Marian Ellerton 1,234 67.9
Liberal Democrat Christine Savage 356 19.6
Labour Nicholas Knight 228 12.5
Majority 878 48.3
Turnout 1,818
Conservative hold Swing
Portchester East[7]
Party Candidate Votes % ±
Liberal Democrat David Norris 1,889 52.8
Conservative Bernard Munden 1,190 33.2
Labour Richard Ryan 501 14.0
Majority 699 19.5
Turnout 3,580
Liberal Democrat hold Swing
Portchester West[7]
Party Candidate Votes % ±
Conservative Nicholas Walker 1,220 50.2
Liberal Democrat Stephen Clark 995 40.9
Labour Leslie Ricketts 216 8.9
Majority 225 9.3
Turnout 2,431
Conservative gain from Liberal Democrat Swing
Sarisbury[7]
Party Candidate Votes % ±
Conservative David Swanbrow 1,283 71.9
Liberal Democrat Mark Christie 338 18.9
Labour Clive Coldwell 163 9.1
Majority 945 53.0
Turnout 1,784
Conservative hold Swing
Stubbington[7]
Party Candidate Votes % ±
Conservative Kay Mandry 1,190 47.0
Liberal Democrat James Forrest 1,182 46.6
Labour Michael Taylor 162 6.4
Majority 8 0.3
Turnout 2,534
Conservative gain from Liberal Democrat Swing
Titchfield[7]
Party Candidate Votes % ±
Conservative Francis Devonshire 1,362 64.9
Liberal Democrat Jennifer Chaloner 483 23.0
Labour Alan Mayes 253 12.1
Majority 879 41.9
Turnout 2,098
Conservative hold Swing
Titchfield Common[7]
Party Candidate Votes % ±
Conservative Keith Evans 986 51.1
Liberal Democrat David Savage 771 40.0
Labour Andrew Mooney 171 8.9
Majority 215 11.2
Turnout 1,928
Conservative gain from Liberal Democrat Swing
Warsash[7]
Party Candidate Votes % ±
Conservative Mary Nadolski 1,509 71.1
Liberal Democrat Alice Herron 398 18.8
Labour Brenda Caines 215 10.1
Majority 1,111 52.4
Turnout 2,122
Conservative hold Swing

References

  1. "Fareham council". BBC News Online. Retrieved 2010-11-14.
  2. "Ballot box". The Times. 2004-06-12. p. 26.
  3. 1 2 3 4 5 6 "Voters transfixed by two burning issues". Southern Daily Echo. 2004-06-07. Retrieved 2010-11-17.
  4. "Meltdown". Southern Daily Echo. 2004-06-11. Retrieved 2010-11-17.
  5. 1 2 3 "Tory steal". Southern Daily Echo. 2004-06-11. Retrieved 2010-11-17.
  6. "Democracy is the winner on the night". Southern Daily Echo. 2004-06-12. Retrieved 2010-11-17.
  7. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 "Election Results - 2004". Fareham Borough Council. Retrieved 2010-11-14.
  8. "How the southeast voted in the district council polls". Evening Standard. 2004-06-11. p. 8.
Preceded by
Fareham Council election, 2002
Fareham local elections Succeeded by
Fareham Council election, 2006
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